I went out this past Saturday night with some friends and things got a little OOC. We ended up closing out a bar somewhere in Lakeview after which I stumbled home. Good times were had by all.
However, I woke up the next morning with a very sore forehead. It wasn't a headache - it felt like I had hit my head on something. Since I couldn't remember doing so, I asked my friends about it. They replied, "Maybe you hit your head on the tap." I gave them a confused look. Did I throw up in the sink at the bar? Nope. "Don't you remember what happened after you took that shot of Goldshlagger?" I don't remember drinking Goldshlagger.
My friends then had to fill me in. Apparently, we got friendly with the bartenders after most of the other patrons went home. At some point, my friends picked me up and held me under the tap at the bar while the bartender poured beer into my mouth. I remember none of this.
Stunned, I asked how much beer I drank. "You drank a lot of beer dude. Like a champ." At some point the bartenders also brought out a funnel, but I wasn't involved in that (I don't think). Also, I became irate when my songs wouldn't play on the jukebox. Somehow I had forgotten to put money in the machine before making my selections...
*shame*
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Cigarettes and Bars
A weird thing happened to me at the bar the other night. I was out on the patio of a bar with two friends who smoke. A representative from Camel cigarettes came over and asked if we wanted free cigarettes.
My friends said yes. The cigarette girl pulled out a Star Trek-esque scanning device and scanned their cigarette cartons, and driver's licenses, then entered their names and contact info into the same device. Then she scanned packs of Camel cigarettes and gave them each two packs of their choice.
I was asked if I wanted some for myself. I said no, but my friends wanted me to get some for them (I actually felt a lot of dissonance doing so). However, after looking at my driver's license the girl said she couldn't give me cigarettes because I was Canadian and therefore couldn't confirm that my license was valid. While I joked about this being discrimination against foreigners, a dude in a suit came over and said he could in fact give me some cigarettes.
All I had to do was print and sign my name on a form. I don't think I even had to declare that I was of legal age to smoke. Then I was handed one pack of cigarettes, not two. Let's review:
* They can't give me two packs of cigarettes because they can't prove I'm legal age.
* They can give me one pack of cigarettes without any proof at all.
This makes total sense. Also, is this legal?
My friends said yes. The cigarette girl pulled out a Star Trek-esque scanning device and scanned their cigarette cartons, and driver's licenses, then entered their names and contact info into the same device. Then she scanned packs of Camel cigarettes and gave them each two packs of their choice.
I was asked if I wanted some for myself. I said no, but my friends wanted me to get some for them (I actually felt a lot of dissonance doing so). However, after looking at my driver's license the girl said she couldn't give me cigarettes because I was Canadian and therefore couldn't confirm that my license was valid. While I joked about this being discrimination against foreigners, a dude in a suit came over and said he could in fact give me some cigarettes.
All I had to do was print and sign my name on a form. I don't think I even had to declare that I was of legal age to smoke. Then I was handed one pack of cigarettes, not two. Let's review:
* They can't give me two packs of cigarettes because they can't prove I'm legal age.
* They can give me one pack of cigarettes without any proof at all.
This makes total sense. Also, is this legal?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Mental Health Care in the USA
One benefit about living in the United States is you learn a lot about their health care system. We all know the gist but I'm studying the ins and outs: access to medical coverage, specific policies regarding access to psychotropic medication, and availability of services. It's an ugly scene. Although I have always supported universal health care, it has been possible to further sway me in that direction. Unless you are filthy rich and exceedingly misanthropic, there is no way anyone in Canada should want to have a health care system like the US.
Specifically, mental health services are appallingly bad. How bad? The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) decided to grade US mental health service provisions state by state, and as a country.
Check out the results.
Note that Illinois has improved from an F to a D! Woo!! Also, not one state received an A. USA! USA!
Unfortunately, I suspect that Canada's mental health care system is in similar shape. This is because psychological and psychiatric services have to be paid for either out of pocket (which is virtually unaffordable for many people) or through insurance (which not everyone has). I'll have to look into this further.
Specifically, mental health services are appallingly bad. How bad? The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) decided to grade US mental health service provisions state by state, and as a country.
Check out the results.
Note that Illinois has improved from an F to a D! Woo!! Also, not one state received an A. USA! USA!
Unfortunately, I suspect that Canada's mental health care system is in similar shape. This is because psychological and psychiatric services have to be paid for either out of pocket (which is virtually unaffordable for many people) or through insurance (which not everyone has). I'll have to look into this further.
Where Am I?
Sometimes I feel like I moved to Canada and you guys became America. As most of you have probably heard:
(From Norm Park) CANADA: ELECTION DID NOT GO WELL ABOVE THE 49TH PARALLEL.
Stephen Harper, newly elected Conservative-Party Prime Minister, named Gary Goodyear, an obscure Member of Parliament, to be Minister of Science and Technology. Already this year Goodyear oversaw a series of massive science funding cuts, including zeroing out the Genome program. A chiropractor and acupuncturist with no science background, he is known for opposing same-sex marriage and favoring full legal rights for fertilized eggs. Asked in an interview if he believed in evolution, he objected to being questioned about religion. Later that day he said he believed in evolution. He should have stopped there, but expanded with an example from chiropractic about women’s shoes and the spine. He clearly confused genetic inheritance with adaptation of an individual, or perhaps he believes in Lamarckian evolution.
Contrast this with Obama's recent steps toward progress by lifting bans on stem cell research, making findings from studies available to the public, and naming his science advisors.
Sorry dudes.
(From Norm Park) CANADA: ELECTION DID NOT GO WELL ABOVE THE 49TH PARALLEL.
Stephen Harper, newly elected Conservative-Party Prime Minister, named Gary Goodyear, an obscure Member of Parliament, to be Minister of Science and Technology. Already this year Goodyear oversaw a series of massive science funding cuts, including zeroing out the Genome program. A chiropractor and acupuncturist with no science background, he is known for opposing same-sex marriage and favoring full legal rights for fertilized eggs. Asked in an interview if he believed in evolution, he objected to being questioned about religion. Later that day he said he believed in evolution. He should have stopped there, but expanded with an example from chiropractic about women’s shoes and the spine. He clearly confused genetic inheritance with adaptation of an individual, or perhaps he believes in Lamarckian evolution.
Contrast this with Obama's recent steps toward progress by lifting bans on stem cell research, making findings from studies available to the public, and naming his science advisors.
Sorry dudes.
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